AAPC Certified Professional Coder (CPC) — Question 98

A 47-year-old female presents to the operating room for a partial corpectomy on one upper thoracic vertebral body, T3. Two surgeons are performing the surgery. One surgeon performs the transthoracic approach and excises the damaged portion of the vertebral body. The second surgeon inserts a bone graft into the vertebral gap, closing the gap, and inserts a metal plate. Both surgeons work together, each as a primary surgeon.
How does each surgeon report their portion of the surgery?

Answer options

Correct answer: D

Explanation

In this scenario, both surgeons are performing distinct but necessary parts of the surgery, justifying the use of modifier 62 to indicate multiple surgeons. The codes 63085 and 63086 represent the procedures performed by each surgeon, while the other options either do not reflect the correct codes for a partial corpectomy or do not account for the multiple surgeons involved.